Question:

I think it was US$290 this year. Or something like that. Cathy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m curious how much does it cost to enter the Ironman Hawaii?

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I actually was ruminating on this thread / issue this weekend when I was out on my long ride . . . it’s currently irrelevant for me, since an IM distance race is 2yrs into the future (yes, I’m already planning that far ahead, in spite of not yet having done a tri . . . I’m an extremist; so sue me) Why not have the AG definitions for IMH slots be changed to 30+, 35+, 40+, etc. If you’re competing for a slot, you’d be competing with everyone your own age and older. If there’s a tie, the older triathlete gets the slot. That way, an extremely competitive 60-64 AG triathlete who finishes ahead of a good 30-34 AG’er won’t miss out on a slot just because there aren’t any in his AG. It seems like it’d help eliminate some of the intrinsic discrimination built into the mechanism of assigning slots based on how many competitors there are in each AG. Has this been suggested before? Are there problems w/ this that I don’t see? Ron ‘I guarantee that I’ll set a PR in the SJ Int’l Tri on 6/27′ Gilcreast

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I’m curious how much does it cost to enter the Ironman Hawaii? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – One way to make the entrance fee seen insignificant is to divide the hours you spend in training preparing for the big day into the entrance fee.   For me, if I dropped a dime into a jar for every hours spent sweating it  would cover the entrance with some left over.   Pretty cheap when you look at it from that point of view. The difficulty of obtaining a qualifying slot does make one cherish and enjoy the opportunity to get to that starting line.   If there were a change in the distribution I would like to see a computer program make the selection by comparing overall times in respect to a percentage correction for increasing age.   Start the race with no designated slots known.   Let the computer make the selection based on finish time compared to the first amateur to cross the line.   There are numbers based on science that determine performance declination as we age.     This would eliminate the need to know the number of participants within any grouping.   If there was only one entrant and that person was within the calculated window he would get a slot.   Inversely,  if there were 40 participants and none met the minimum calculated time,  no one gets a slot.   That way the most competitive at any race would go to IMH, which is designated,  World Championship.   OH well, it may make more since to leave it as it is. Complexity does have a way of eliminating the fun. Got to go out and put my dimes in the jar. — + record) ,   IMH97 (1st in AG),   PowerMan Hawaii 98 (1st in AG + record) , Gulf Coast Half IM 98  (1st in AG) ,  1998 IMH (3rd in Age Group) http://www.ironmantri.com/davico.html

– Marc Yellin 55 Lilac Dr. Apt.#1 Rochester, NY 14620 716-442-6122

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One way to make the entrance fee seen insignificant is to divide the hours you spend in training preparing for the big day into the entrance fee.   For me, if I dropped a dime into a jar for every hours spent sweating it  would cover the entrance with some left over.   Pretty cheap when you look at it from that point of view. The difficulty of obtaining a qualifying slot does make one cherish and enjoy the opportunity to get to that starting line.   If there were a change in the distribution I would like to see a computer program make the selection by comparing overall times in respect to a percentage correction for increasing age.   Start the race with no designated slots known.   Let the computer make the selection based on finish time compared to the first amateur to cross the line.   There are numbers based on science that determine performance declination as we age.     This would eliminate the need to know the number of participants within any grouping.   If there was only one entrant and that person was within the calculated window he would get a slot.   Inversely,  if there were 40 participants and none met the minimum calculated time,  no one gets a slot.   That way the most competitive at any race would go to IMH, which is designated,  World Championship.   OH well, it may make more since to leave it as it is. Complexity does have a way of eliminating the fun. Got to go out and put my dimes in the jar. — + record) ,   IMH97 (1st in AG),   PowerMan Hawaii 98 (1st in AG + record) , Gulf Coast Half IM 98  (1st in AG) ,  1998 IMH (3rd in Age Group) http://www.ironmantri.com/davico.html

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Question:

I wanted a set of sealskin socks.  Couldn’t find them in the NRS catalog. I’m going to be safety boating for a triathlon here in Phoenix, and my old booties have had it. Perfect excuse to go buy something. Dave non-RBP clique member/Lurker Permit #0437 Necky Tesla & WildSys Alto – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just ordered something today (thursday), and asked if they can get it to me tomorrow morning (Friday) before I leave for a trip I’ll let you know if it gets here A tip: next time you need something in a hurry, try NRS first (http://www.nrsweb.com). They’ve come through for me any many others on fast desperation orders. — ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::                          r.b.p. clique#4         "They write books that contradict the rocks…"

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I just ordered something today (thursday), and asked if they can get it to me tomorrow morning (Friday) before I leave for a trip I’ll let you know if it gets here

A tip: next time you need something in a hurry, try NRS first (http://www.nrsweb.com). They’ve come through for me any many others on fast desperation orders. — ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::                          r.b.p. clique#4         "They write books that contradict the rocks…"

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A few years ago I had a frustrating experience ordering merchandise from WRR.  Has there customer service improved, or are they still a company to avoid?

This came up again about 6 months ago and a few people had supportive things to say.  I would try ordering again, but tell them FILL or KILL – do not backorder.  Let us know how it goes. – Mothra  (aka Kathy Streletzky)

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I just ordered something today (thursday), and asked if they can get it to me tomorrow morning (Friday) before I leave for a trip I’ll let you know if it gets here – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A few years ago I had a frustrating experience ordering merchandise from WRR.  Has there customer service improved, or are they still a company to avoid? This came up again about 6 months ago and a few people had supportive things to say.  I would try ordering again, but tell them FILL or KILL – do not backorder.  Let us know how it goes. – Mothra  (aka Kathy Streletzky)

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A few years ago I had a frustrating experience ordering merchandise from WRR.  Has there customer service improved, or are they still a company to avoid?  Despite a vow to never do business with them again, they do have some products I can find no where else. DonR Lifetime Member of the Secret Clique of RPB Lurkers, ID #19.  

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Question:

Jurgen Zack’s effort was truely courageous–physically, mentally, and psychologically!!! It is much easier to finish second than to put oneself through all that he did to finish.  He showed the soul of true triathlete. -rjh

I agree.  One thing pretty unique about Zack’s position, versus a more average triathlete who physically falls apart during an IM, is that everyone has such expectations of Zack.  He was really in the spot light at a time when I don’t think anyone wants to be.  Seems like he must have his head really straight. Now, next year, maybe he’ll finally take the race. — Eric Pederson "You mean there’s a difference between ‘long, slow distance’ and  ’race pace’?"

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Jurgen Zack’s effort was truely courageous–physically, mentally, and psychologically!!! It is much easier to finish second than to put oneself through all that he did to finish.  He showed the soul of true triathlete. -rjh

I was looking back through my collection of IM videos the other day and discovered that I had kept the 1997 IM Europe tape… you know, the one in which Luc Van Lierde smashes the 8 hour barrier in 7:50:42, give or take a few seconds.  Guess who Luc passed only a mile from the finish and finished only about 1 minute back????  Do you remember?  It wasn’t Lothar Leder who first broke the 8 hour barrier the year before (he did finish in about 7:57) and it wasn’t Thomas Hellriegel (he was about 7:59).  It was Jurgen.  He put together one of the greatest IM races ever, yet few will remember his accomplishment! Jack Orsinger

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Jurgen Zack’s effort was truely courageous–physically, mentally, and psychologically!!! It is much easier to finish second than to put oneself through all that he did to finish.  He showed the soul of true triathlete. -rjh

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Question:

Oops…. Double posts and ridding-twice! Maybe I should ease up on the long ones… As an aside

Question:

I’m not sure if I can help but, when I read Luis’ post, I said, "That’s interesting."…and moved on.   Since I don’t know Luis’ story, I’d have to ask him the question: "Luis, help me/us understand? How do you live? How do you survive? How to you make money to do the things that you want to do…and also train for the Iron Man?  Is your story about wanting to do the Iron Man and having no money to do the race you mention…is your story one that captures the hearts and imagination of others. From the replies, it would seem that your simple request has drawn a lot of attention and negative reaction Then I thought to myself,  if I wanted to do a psychological study about asking for help under various circumstances, Luis’ would be a very interesting study, judging by a few of the reactions posted.  I would be able to see how distracted someone could get over a post in which I personally would need to know a good deal more, to evaluate if this person truly needed the help of people in the global running community and in particular the triathlete community. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello fellow triathletes! My name is Luis, I am 23.I am a spanish triathlete. My dream is finishing an IRONMAN. I am going to do the Lanzarote IM next May 23rd, 1998. I have been training for it for the last 5 months. The problem is I have no money for the trip to the island and the entry fee. Could you please help me and give me a very small donation? $1 would be enough. Any of you could help or sponsor me, please? Please check out this site: http://www.redestb.es/personal/ironlsm/lanzarote.html If each of you would send $1 to me I could have enough to pay for my entry fee ($245)!!! Come on guys! I’ve tried to get some help or sponsorship here in my country but it is not possible, very little people know this sport, they think this IRONMAN thing is a joke and that makes my blood heat!. But I gotta get there whatever it takes. Thanks for your time and for reading this. Yours truly, Luis S

Question:

Does anyone have any info or experience with Vetta heart rate monitors? I’m looking at the Vetta VHR-50 Lumina computer and it offers alot of neat things for a relatively cheap price. bike/wrist mount waterproof computer gives  - heart rate                 – upper/lower limit settings                 – target zone memory storage/recall                 – target zone heart rate alert                 – speedometer                 – max./avg. speed                 – odometer                 – clock                 – trip distance lumina back lit All hardware included (chest strap, mounts, etc.) all for $160 Is this to good to be true?  Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Paul

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Springfield Ironhorse Warsaw Triathlon Ft Wayne Triathlon Cameron Springs Galyans Championships Muncie Endurathon Mark TRI FORT TRIATHLETES

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Does anyone have any info or experience with Vetta heart rate monitors? I’m looking at the Vetta VHR-50 Lumina computer and it offers alot of neat things for a relatively cheap price. bike/wrist mount waterproof computer gives      - heart rate r

                 upper/lower limit settings – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –            - target zone memory storage/recall            - target zone heart rate alert            - speedometer            - max./avg. speed            - odometer            - clock            - trip distance lumina back lit All hardware included (chest strap, mounts, etc.) all for $160 Is this to good to be true?  Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Paul

Hi Paul, that’s true what you talking about. The Vetta VHR  50 is a great heart-rate watch. and it looks better than the polar serie. you should get it for apporx. 90 – 100 Dollar. Not more. if you compare the functions to the polar it’s a quarter of the price, and you can use on the bike very easy.One disadvantage is, that the light uses very much battery power. don’t use too much. And if you press the light button the mode changes always to the standard mode. But look for the adaquate polar, compare it, – decide!

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone have any info or experience with Vetta heart rate monitors? I’m looking at the Vetta VHR-50 Lumina computer and it offers alot of neat things for a relatively cheap price. bike/wrist mount waterproof computer gives  - heart rate                 – upper/lower limit settings                 – target zone memory storage/recall                 – target zone heart rate alert                 – speedometer                 – max./avg. speed                 – odometer                 – clock                 – trip distance lumina back lit All hardware included (chest strap, mounts, etc.) all for $160

I have one of these.  I picked it up for about $70 at an REI sale, less than half the price you quote.  I’d look around a bit more for pricing if I were you.  Maybe I just happened to get a really good deal. Seems to work well enough, though I can’t compare it to any other HRMs. The "alert" consists of a flashing display, not a beep or anything. You have to look at it to get the alert. The cyclometer seems to work ok, though it’s not as precise as my old Avocet 25 – speed in 0.5mph increments only. But it seems to do the job.

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About the VHR50: One disadvantage is that the lowest measured heart rate is 40 Hz. Too high for me to measure my resting heart rate with it. I must have had some sticky gel on my finger when I pressed the main button at mile 30 during the half Vineman race. The next time I wanted to switch to the "heart rate mode" there was no button left. Not on the computer or my finger. For the rest of the ride I was stuck in the "distance mode" and had to guess about my effort. Otherwise I am happy with it, have it for 2 years, paid only $100. TriWhizz — Plans: Wildflower, USTS Oceanside  |  Department of Physics and Astronomy  |      Shred long and prosper…     |   University of Southern California   |

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Question:

—great ongoing report mercilessly snipped— You were thinking on the run?!!    ;-) "Iron" Pete Priolo IMC’96 – 10:36:37    IMC’97 – 10:42:53 1998 Schedule so far… Gulf Coast Tri – May 9 – unconfirmed IMC’98 – August 30 – unconfirmed

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: You were thinking on the run?!!    ;-) There was a run? — Jason Mayfield, Arlington VA Persist, Persevere, Deny, Pursue, Pain, Survive, Ignore, Endure, Strive, Laugh, Cry, Live, Prevail, Scream, Sweat, Bleed, Sustain, Learn, Ascend, Give, Get, GO!   354 Days Until Ironman Canada ‘98

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 2.  Math is hard in the 2nd half of a marathon in an ironman!  (I wonder if feminists would object to a Barbie that said that?)  Once I began to enter the aforementioned state of partial crowd-contact withdrawal somewhere around the halfway point, I started trying to predict what kind of time I was headed for, and what kind of paces I would have to run in the remaining miles to meet various goals.  Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  You have a watch with elapsed race time, elapsed run time, and conveniently-located mile markers.  Hah!  The funny thing is that I kept inventing clever little tricks (they seemed awfully clever to me at the time) to make certain subtractions easier, like, if you want to take 1:43 from 2:12, you just change the 2:12 to 1:72… etc.  But by the time I’d made the substitution, I’d have forgotten the meaning of the numbers, which themselves were usually some derived figures designed to make some other calculation easier… 3.  I decided to give the numbers a rest and do something literary instead.  The phrase being tossed about this year after being mentioned at the carbo-load was "Pain is temporary, pride is forever".  Except that I had heard it before as "Pain is temporary, pride is permanent", which I liked better both because "permanent" is a better antonym for "temporary", and because the second one has almost all the words starting with "P".  So – could I think of a synonym for "temporary" that begins with "P", and make it 4 for 4?  Hah!  I’d think for a while, eat a Powergel, and then come up with some great P-word that described *pain* really well (I recall: punishing, pervasive, problematic, poison), but that had nothing to do with temporary.  I’d go "yes!" and then "doh!" (I never did manage to find one, but that night as I was falling asleep I managed to think of "passing" and "provisional.") (End of Part II)

Susan, this stuff is PRICELESS!!  More, more, more!!  I was laughing out loud, I recognize all of this stuff so precisely, all the little mental games you play trying to distract yourself from the pain and the sheer BOREDOM of the non-stop pounding.  Can’t wait for Part III! Tricia Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "REAL Triathletes don’t draft." *** Ironman Canada 1997 *** http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~brooksie        

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The Bike continued – The Hills The first hills on McLean when we turned off the run course at mile 9 seemed shockingly steep to me, and as we slowed to begin grinding up them, I felt a stab of adrenaline and this familiar fear that has been plaguing me all year on the bike.  I don’t know exactly where it came from, probably a combination of several things.  This is only my second full season (well, almost 3) in clipless pedals, and I still have more than my share of stupid falls at stop signs, and stalling on steep hills.  During my first outdoor ride this spring, I had the scare of being run off the road by a speeding oncoming car trying to complete a pass before reaching me.  It took me half a dozen rides before I could clip in again without my knees turning to water.  I also began doing my first group rides this year with people in drafting situations, in which I still don’t feel confident.  As a result, I spent a lot of time this year feeling uneasy and nervous riding, especially in traffic, in groups, and when having to do turns or otherwise manouver, and when going slow on uphills.  Suddenly, all those situations converged (whoever thought this hill would break up packs was wrong), and I was anxious.  Luckily, the feeling never returned after that initial episode, and by the time we hit the descents after Yellow Lake, I was whooping like a banshee, in my aerobars at 65+ kph. Richter Pass: Last year, I was totally intimidated by these hills because of all the talk, and though they hadn’t seemed so bad when I drove the course, I knew that could be deceptive.  On the day, they weren’t anywhere near as bad as I’d imagined, and in the intervening year, "not horrifying" had somehow transformed in my mind into "nothing worth mentioning", and I’m afraid I passed this little gem on to several first-time IMCers.   Sorry ’bout that!  They’re actually pretty tough after all.  I was wishing I had the 26 cog on my old bike instead of only the 23 on my new bike, and I stood up a little more than I’d planned.  I was amazed to see people chugging by me in their large chain rings.  Following Richter, I started to become aware of the wind as a factor, and experienced my first bout of negativity, wondering if I’d be able to improve my bike split from last year, when there was no wind at all.  Hey, I’d finally buckled and shelled out $800 for a new bike (used Marinoni) to replace my beloved 30 lb "Old Yeller"; I’d *better* improve! The worst part of the new course was by far the extended "turnaround" extra loops that come about 2/3 of the way through.  Although you *know* that the distance is all measured out, and everyone has to do the same thing, psychologically it felt just awful to be tooting around these non-productive little circles.  I guess I hadn’t studied the new course as carefully as I should have, and didn’t realize just how long this stuff went on for.  There was a ridiculously rough section of  about 1K that you had to do twice, that shouldn’t even have been cleared for bicycle riding, in my opinion.  I guess it was responsible for lots of flats, but I was lucky.  The other thing I would have realized if I’d studied the new course more carefully, is that Yellow Lake and its hills now make their appearance almost an hour later in the ride, since the new way back is shorter.  This means that I was pretty tired and grumpy by that time, and somewhere around here I’m sorry to admit, I was maybe a little rude to a couple of the volunteers and/or spectators.  Specifically, there are these weird stretches of road somewhere, they must be just before or somewhere within the climbs (maybe even after, but before the descent?) – I was getting tired and can’t remember – where I swear it *looks* like you’re clearly heading downhill, but you’re not.  Does anyone else remember this, or was I hallucinating?  It may be an illusion caused by the surrounding landscape, but I distinctly remember looking *down* the road, and feeling my speed drop and effort increase.  I got really grumpy and frustrated, and even stopped pedalling a few times to try to coast, and work out what was happening.  Also checked for air loss and brake rub.  Then I started asking people on the roadside, "Is this stretch of road up or down?"  Of course, they’re all jumping and cheering and would just say useful stuff like "You’re almost there!" "It’s all downhill from here!" "You’re looking great!"  And I’m like, "Yes, but this road *right here*, which way is it tilted!?"  Nobody quite got my meaning: not surprising really.  I guess I wasn’t rude, but I’m sure I wasn’t smiling at them, either. Everything picked up after Yellow Lake and the long series of mostly downhill back into town.  Speed, confidence, mood, level-of-consciousness – I realized then that I really had been in a fog, and now it was like I’d just pulled cotton out of my ears and I was fully aware of my surroundings again.  The above-mentioned whooping down the steepest descents really was fun, and to my amazement, I passed dozens of people here.  Maybe I wasn’t being very safe, I don’t know.  I felt invincible, and almost never used my brakes.  My total time on the bike course, not including transitions, was 6:18, only 8 minutes faster than last year, and I was a little disappointed.  One more year of experience, a few more long rides than last year, and even a new bike…  I suppose there *had* been some wind; and on the postive side, I felt *much* better than at this point in the race last year (i.e., not weak and nauseous).  In fact, I was raring to go. The Run I’ll start by saying that I really love to run, and I love the run at IMC.  I’m not anywhere as good at running as I am at swimming, but it’s still my favorite triathlon event.  Swimming is so short, plus your head is in the water and you can’t really see what’s going on.  Cycling can be uncomfortable and scary, and you have to depend on your equipment a bit more than I like, and I still feel like an awkward rookie poser.  And while you can see what’s going on, there are too many things to concentrate on (like keeping your balance), so you can’t really interact with the volunteers and other competitors.  (Although I really do think the feed stations on the bike are amazingly efficient, as well as being wonderful periodic distractions and sources of energy from the highly appreciated volunteers, and spectators who tend to cluster around them.) On this, second trip out along Main Street, my silly grin was finally firmly in place.  I slapped hands with kids in the crowd, smiled and waved like a celebrity, and generally just soaked up the atmosphere, enjoying the relief of finally being off the bike.  The crowds love it when you acknowledge their cheering, and their appreciation comes right back at you as more cheering, and really gives you a boost.  In the first half, I go out of my way to make at least individual eye contact, if not actual verbal exchange, with as many people as I can.  In later stages, one of the first signs that it’s becoming tough is that I begin to withdraw into myself, and begin to avoid eye contact with the spectators.  I still appreciate their presence, and can buzz off the generic support, even continuing to smile and wave.  But I need all my own personal energy for myself by then, and the individual eye contact has to go. I knew that my running endurance was my most improved thing compared to last year.  I got a HRM for Christmas and finally learned to run slowly, which is an accomplishment that makes non-runners go "huh?" and think you’re joking.  My best standalone marathon is a 7:59/mile pace, and until this year, I truly didn’t feel that I could run much slower than about 8:20/mile without feeling awkward and bored.  That included training for IMC last year, so as you can imagine, my long runs were few and exhausting (and not very relevant to the kind of running I’d be doing in an ironman).  This year I did more long runs, and enjoyed them a lot more at 9:00/mile.  My stride has shortened and become ball-heel instead of heel-toe.  None of this has improved my speed at shorter distances of course, but it hasn’t decreased very much either.  Anyway, I felt confident that I was going to have a good run, and being able to visualize in advance every step of the course felt like it was going to be a big help, too.  Most importantly, it was nice and cool, and I wasn’t nauseous, so I was still able to scarf down much-needed Powergels every few miles. Last year, the only calories I could get down were from a little bit of Allsport, and a few grapes. Each of my first 3 miles went by in exactly 8:30 with not too much effort, and I’m afraid I began to have delusions of grandeur.  What would that be, a 3:45…  I noticed RST on a calf beside me, and chatted with David Barclay for a bit before he disappeared into a blue box.  I wondered if I should force myself to slow down a little in case maybe this *was* a little too fast to start out.  Over the next few miles though, with no change of effort, my pace gradualy slowed on its own and settled down around 9:10 (for now).  I still felt great, but my hamstrings were stiffening up, which probably shortened my stride.  A little past mile 4, I recognized the spot where last year I had stripped to my speedo and taken a short dip in Skaha Lake.  (It had been about 90 degrees in the shade, and I felt sooo much better after my swim that I know it was worth the time it took.  I was quite surprised that no one joined me.)  I’d been prepared to do the same this year if necessary, but it was perfect running weather.  I think it was drizzling again, actually.  I wondered if and/or when I would first walk this year.  Last year almost everyone around me was doing some walking (I must’ve walked several miles in total).  This year I didn’t see anyone walking until the second half, and even then it was a much smaller percentage.  I had decided that whatever happened, I wouldn’t … read more »

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Question:

: that it is OK to start late in life (I am now 39), and still have : hopes of finishing a marathon. OOooh! Take it easy on the running!  You’re almost halfway dead! jg

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in May/97. Thanks for the inspiration, Ann Ottawa, Canada – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have been reading rec.running for the past year, and have benefited enormously from the many words of wisdom offered here. Thank you all! Posts from first-time marathoners were specially meaningful for me, since I was training for my first marathon. It was great to realize that it is OK to start late in life (I am now 39), and still have hopes of finishing a marathon. So in the hope that this will help inspire someone else, I wanted to report that I completed my first marathon last weekend (Columbus Marathon). It took me 5 hrs 11 mins, but I did it! I was on a pace to finish in 4 hrs 50 mins until mile 21, when I started getting cramps and had to alternate running and walking the rest of the way. I have already started planning for my next marathon, with a 4hrs 50 mins goal. Happy running, –ashok krishnamurthy

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I have been reading rec.running for the past year, and have benefited enormously from the many words of wisdom offered here. Thank you all! Posts from first-time marathoners were specially meaningful for me, since I was training for my first marathon. It was great to realize that it is OK to start late in life (I am now 39), and still have hopes of finishing a marathon.

<snipped Congratulations!  Hey, I didn’t do my first marathon until  I was 40. I figured I was old enough to try one then.  ;-} Now I’m trying to get an Ironman tri in before I’m 50…… tick.. tick.. tick…tick… TriBop WebRunner Running Page — Southeast USA Race Calendar 200+ listings. Beginner’s FAQ, Software Download the WebRunner Racing Utilities   http://www.webrunner.com/webrun/running/running.html

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| Mike Tennent writes:

| Congratulations!  Hey, I didn’t do my first marathon until  I was 40. | I figured I was old enough to try one then.  ;-} Same here. | Now I’m trying to get an Ironman tri in before I’m 50…… | | tick.. tick.. tick…tick… I did my first 100 mile race at 50. It was my way to celebrate my birthday. How’s that for sick and twisted. I can assure you that age is a tiny factor, it’s the time to get those looooong runs, bikes and swims that is the most demanding. After the proper training(some impossible to quantify concept) the race is almost anti-climactic. The best of luck. GO FOR IT! — Doug Freese  All opinions are mine. IBM Tele: 8-293-8098

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Freese) writes: | Mike Tennent writes: | Congratulations!  Hey, I didn’t do my first marathon until  I was 40. | I figured I was old enough to try one then.  ;-} Same here. | Now I’m trying to get an Ironman tri in before I’m 50…… | | tick.. tick.. tick…tick… I did my first 100 mile race at 50. It was my way to celebrate my birthday. How’s that for sick and twisted. I can assure you that age is a tiny factor, it’s the time to get those looooong runs, bikes and swims that is the most demanding. After the proper training(some impossible to quantify concept) the race is almost anti-climactic. The best of luck. GO FOR IT! — Doug Freese  All opinions are mine. IBM Tele: 8-293-8098

I agree with you Doug, after you start training for a long distance event, the distance does not seem "as" dominating.  I was scared to death my first ironman triathlon, but after a couple of hrs. found myself having much fun.  I hope to tackle some ultras in the upcoming yr. seeyatmk bradenton,florida http://www.netcom.com/~skee/tmk.html

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I did my first 100 mile race at 50. It was my way to celebrate my birthday.

I did 50K, solo, at the local high school track on my 50th birthday (1986.)  At the time I was running about 10 miles per week due to injuries. I started at 05:00 in the dark and finished before 11:00.  I had to walk the last five miles. When the sun got up the temperature was over 90 degrees F. —Al Hromjak

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I did my first 100 mile race at 50. It was my way to celebrate my birthday. I did 50K, solo, at the local high school track on my 50th birthday (1986.)  At the time I was running about 10 miles per week due to injuries. I started at 05:00 in the dark and finished before 11:00.  I had to walk the last five miles. When the sun got up the temperature was over 90 degrees F. —Al Hromjak

On a similar note, I ran the Houston Marathon as a birthday present to myself a week after my 26th birthday. It ended up being my fastest marathon. I had a great time thinking about my life as the miles/years went by. Andrew Heiz

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I did my first 100 mile race at 50. It was my way to celebrate my birthday.

What a great way to celebrate.  Congratulations. Would be interested in your reflections along the path. — In health and on the run, Ozzie Gontang Maintainer-rec.running FAQ Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic,  est. 1975

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have been reading rec.running for the past year, and have benefited enormously from the many words of wisdom offered here. Thank you all! Posts from first-time marathoners were specially meaningful for me, since I was training for my first marathon. It was great to realize that it is OK to start late in life (I am now 39), and still have hopes of finishing a marathon. So in the hope that this will help inspire someone else, I wanted to report that I completed my first marathon last weekend (Columbus Marathon). It took me 5 hrs 11 mins, but I did it! I was on a pace to finish in 4 hrs 50 mins until mile 21, when I started getting cramps and had to alternate running and walking the rest of the way. I have already started planning for my next marathon, with a 4hrs 50 mins goal. Happy running, –ashok krishnamurthy

Congrats on your first marathon, welcome to the marathon tribe.  :) seeyatmk bradenton,florida http://www.netcom.com/~skee/tmk.html

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I have been reading rec.running for the past year, and have benefited enormously from the many words of wisdom offered here. Thank you all! Posts from first-time marathoners were specially meaningful for me, since I was training for my first marathon. It was great to realize that it is OK to start late in life (I am now 39), and still have hopes of finishing a marathon. So in the hope that this will help inspire someone else, I wanted to report that I completed my first marathon last weekend (Columbus Marathon). It took me 5 hrs 11 mins, but I did it! I was on a pace to finish in 4 hrs 50 mins until mile 21, when I started getting cramps and had to alternate running and walking the rest of the way. I have already started planning for my next marathon, with a 4hrs 50 mins goal. Happy running, –ashok krishnamurthy

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Question:

I have seen the postings in the calendar section for an indoor tri series in the Chicago area.  Could someone tell me how these are run?  We recently opened a new rec center in our town where I am working part time and I would be interested in starting this type of program here.  I seem to recall an article in either Triathlete mag. or Inside Triathlon.

The club that I used to belong to in Ky. would occasionally run an indoor triathlon (although they didn’t call it that). They did theirs in a couple of flavors.   – Stairmaster/Stationary Bike   – Swim/Stationary Bike/Run (indoor track/indoor pool) I did not ever compete in one of these. I believe that the significant difference between the event as they ran it and a typical duathlon or triathlon is that they allowed (required actually) a pretty long (5 minutes or more) time between events.  You added up all of your times (not sure what they did with stairs and resistance levels, but I can imagine lots of alternatives here) and basically had a complete recovery between events. This was pretty informal, but quite popular with a subset of the local club. dave

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I have seen the postings in the calendar section for an indoor tri series in the Chicago area.  Could someone tell me how these are run?  We recently opened a new rec center in our town where I am working part time and I would be interested in starting this type of program here.  I seem to recall an article in either Triathlete mag. or Inside Triathlon.

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Question:

Wasn’t the real joke: How many triathletes does it take to change a light bulb? 7, one to change it, 3 to stand on the curb and tell you how good you look and 3 more to get your splits. How many cyclists? 17, one to change it, 4 to complain that you should be using Italian candles and 12 to stand behind them and do absolutely no work!

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: Q. How many triathletes does it take to change a light bulb? : A. Zero.  Triathletes aren’t afraid of the dark. : A.  Just One.  However, it’ll take a week for him/her to taper :     for it.  I was recently going to try and start a thread about tri humour. Funny stuff that has happened to trigeeks, Newbie mistakes, old jokes made into tri jokes or whatever. I’m still refining my main joke but the first one goes like this:   You’d figure the second trigeek would’ve seen it! TriDork p.s.  it’s one of those time jokes….laugh (or moan) when you get time.

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I was recently going to try and start a thread about tri humour. Funny stuff that has happened to trigeeks, Newbie mistakes, old jokes made into tri jokes or whatever. I’m still refining my main joke but the first one goes like this:  You’d figure the second trigeek would’ve seen it!

Not if they were drafting.  I told you drafting was wrong!!!!!!;)

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I was recently going to try and start a thread about tri humour. Funny stuff that has happened to trigeeks, Newbie mistakes, old jokes made into tri jokes or whatever.

I heard a couple (yeah, that’s it, another couple) have the following conversational exchange at one event:   Participant’s wife:  Did you see that one chic^H^H^H^Hwoman with the     big bazooms?   Participant:  You mean the one with the bright yellow Rip’n Hammer     top, finishing the run just after I had started?   Participant’s wife:  Yeah, that’s the one.   Participant:  No, I didn’t notice her. Adrian.

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Q. How many triathletes does it take to change a light bulb? A. Zero.  Triathletes aren’t afraid of the dark. — cgc.tri-geek

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Q. How many triathletes does it take to change a light bulb? A. Zero.  Triathletes aren’t afraid of the dark.

A.  Just One.  However, it’ll take a week for him/her to taper     for it.

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